After discovering a ransom note on the stairs of their home, the Ramseys placed calls, not only to the police but to family and friends, who also soon arrived at the house. However, authorities failed to lock down the home, so visitors wandered throughout the house, touching and moving things, and potentially disturbing any evidence that might have been present. John also potentially destroyed evidence at the crime scene around 1 p.m. that afternoon, when he discovered JonBenét's body in the basement and carried her upstairs, rather than leaving her there, according to Crime Museum.
The ransom note was another source of suspicion. The note demanded exactly $118,000 in exchange for JonBenét's safe return, which just happened to be the same amount of money John had been given as a bonus from his company the previous year, per CNN. The strange note, as well as the disturbed crime scene, soon cast an "umbrella of suspicion" around John and Patsy, via The Boston Globe. Another popular theory soon emerged, speculating the parents were not themselves responsible but were simply covering up for their son, Burke, who might have lashed out at his younger sister out of either jealousy or rage, according to CrimeViral.
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